Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Need Fire - Box Set

Need Fire is a box set of five Celtic/Romances by Cornelia Amiri
all are published individually 

As my website says I write about Celtic long swords, hot heroes and warrior women. A need fire is a ritual bonfire used at the ancient Celtic fire festival of Beltane. Many people nowdays celebrate May Day in place of Beltane. The words need and fire also conjure up images of a hot romance so I thought it would make a perfect title for this box set of five Celtic romance novellas.

Timeless Voyage
Off the mist shrouded coast of Ireland, a lady pirate, Anwen, captures the enemy, a Roman, Titus Rufius Kaeso. The Celtic warrior woman presses her hard iron dagger against Kaeso’s throat, but memories of fated lovers, druids and sacrifice, stay her hand.
Kaeso is also captivated by dreams of the woman he loved in a previous life, the mirror image of Anwen. In this lifetime they are foes, Roman and Celt. Can Anwen and Kaeso steer their timeless voyage to a happy destiny or will they be robbed of love once more?

Pendragon’s Obsession
Eigyr is the woman the gods meant for King Uthyr. The lady who will bare his children as foretold by the fiery dragon comet, but there’s one problem…she’s marred to one of his dukes. The sensuous powerful king awakens Eigyr’s lust but she will not break her wedding vows. Driven by a deep, overpowering desire, Uthyr would do anything to have but one night with Eigyr.
The king’s druid, Menw holds the answer to Uthyr’s dilemma. Magic. But at what cost?

Moon Goddess Wife
From Welsh mythology springs the tale of Rhiannon and Pwyll. Chief Pwyll's life is changed forever the day Goddess Rhiannon rides pass him on her magic horse. Forbidden romance smolders between the goddess and the chieftain. With the use of an enchanted bag, Rhiannon breaks free of an unwanted betrothal. Happily, she weds Pwyll, but a harrowing mystery tears them apart. Will Pwyll's suspicion and duty as chieftain prevail or will love win out?

A Fine Cauldron Of  Fish
It's summer on the Isle of Man and Andrew is looking for hot girls and good times. So when he meets the dreamy and seductive Margaid, he thinks he's hit the jackpot. There are only a couple of minor problems: Margaid lives in a cave under the sea, is invisible, and thinks that only Andrew's blood can save her from turning into a water horse! But hey, whoever said love was perfect!?

Some Vampires Shimmy
6th in the Dancing Vampire series
Afric and Foomna, the last of the dancing vampire sisters, shimmy and strut their way into belly dancing at a Scottish Steamapunk Con. It’s all sizzle and steam when they get together with a sexy rock guitarist and a hot looking god at the con. Afric swore she’d never love a human but Kade’s got her tied up in Celtic knots with the exotic pleasures of his shibari rope. The War Goddess Morrigan commands Afric to cut her ties with her human lover. Afric’s caught between pleasing her goddess, her sister, and her man. What will it take for Afric to follow her own heart and where will that path lead to, the Earthly Realm or Underhill?



Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Pendragon's Obsession

Blurb:
Eigyr is the woman the gods meant for King Uthyr. The lady who will bare his children as foretold by the fiery dragon comet, but there’s one problem…she’s marred to one of his dukes. The sensuous powerful king awakens Eigyr’s lust but she will not break her wedding vows. Driven by a deep, overpowering desire, Uthyr would do anything to have but one night with Eigyr.
The king’s druid, Menw holds the answer to Uthyr’s dilemma. Magic. But at what cost? 
Excerpt:
Uthyr ignored him. He felt woozy, almost mindless as he gazed into Eigyr’s sparkling eyes. “The comet is the cause of it all. A blaze, hurtling through the sky, shaped into a fiery dragon with two serpentine tails. One lashed out beyond the old Celtic land of Gaul, the other reached towards the Irish Sea and unraveled into seven sparkling threads.” He winked at Eigyr. “Menw, son of Teirwaedd, prophesied the fierce dragon tail that blazed beyond Gaul heralded a son, a king to hold power over all the kingdoms beneath his reach. Its other exhilarant tail symbolized a daughter, whose sons and grandsons would rule over Logres.”
Eigyr laid her hand on the table by her plate. Uthyr covered her hand with his. “This morning I was crowned king, just as that comet foretold. Today I ordered my goldsmith to cast two mystical dragons of pure gold, one for each ray, my future heirs.” The king gave her soft hand a squeeze. “Would you like me to have my goldsmith fashion a memento of this day for you? Perhaps a dragonhead brooch?”
The annoying duke cleared his throat loudly and Uthyr tilted his head toward him. “It is a tradition of Celtic hospitality for a chief to give gifts to his guests. Is it not?”
“You are generous, my king, but my wife has no need of a gold token to remember your coronation.” Gwrlais spoke calmly but there was a hint of anger in his eyes.
“No, I do not, my king.” Eigyr swallowed hard, clearly affected by the tension between her husband and her king. “I shall never forget this day.” She spoke with sincerity.
“Nor I.” Uthyr eased his hand off of hers but held her eyes with his gaze. Eigyr smiled at him with her mouth and her eyes.
Despite Menw’s prophecy of children, Uthyr hadn’t given any thought to settling down to a wife. Until now. He smiled back at Eigyr. The draw he felt toward this woman, the feeling she was his, overwhelmed him. Uthyr didn’t think for one moment that Eigyr wouldn’t prefer him to her husband. He’d been favored all his life. He was always the tallest, the fastest, the most handsome. Everyone loved Uthyr as a boy, and when he’d grown into a man … he expected that same favoritism. And he always got it.
He tore his gaze away from Eigyr to look around the banquet hall, seeking his druid. Once his eyes fell on Menw, the statuesque, regal druid nodded at Uthyr.
Within his mind, Uthyr heard a smooth, calming voice that rang with wisdom. Without opening his mouth, Menw said to him alone, “She is the one. The Pendragon’s mate. God Dewy, shapeshifter of the dragon, deems it so.”
Menw knew all. Uthyr did not doubt him. But a moment of confusion flitted through his mind. Eigyr is married to one of my nobles. He popped a hot cockle in his mouth and chewed slowly as he gazed at Eigyr. Does that matter… if the gods chose her as the mother of my children…the woman who will birth the mighty hero king of Britain and beyond?
His hunger grew for more than food. How he longed to touch that silky hair plaited into six braids. He envisioned freeing each braid and watching the wealth of hair spill loose and spread across his bed as she lay upon it, ready to give herself to him.
“Scrumptious,” he rasped as he smiled at her. He wanted her. Needed her. The gods wanted him to have her.
Eigyr returned his smile and he knew she wanted him, too. Uthyr’s moment of doubt in pursing Gwrlais’ wife vanished. Gwrlais no longer mattered to him.
“Yes, the cockles look delicious.” Eigyr lifted the goblet to her lips and took a sip.
He meant her, not the shucked, steamed shellfish, but now he could offer her some since she seemed to like them. “I am served the choice bits of all.” He scooped up a small pile of cockles with his spoon and deposited them on her plate. If only he could feed them to her. Touch her luscious lips, watch them part, and push a cockle into her mouth. But her husband sat at her side and would no doubt make more foolish comments at such a gesture.
Of course, Uthyr was king. And a better man for her. Should not the most beautiful woman in the kingdom be with the most powerful man? She deserved nothing less than a true hero. Eigyr should be with the champion of Britannia…him…the Pendragon.
Her blue eyes gleamed with surprise as he shared the shellfish from his plate. Eigyr picked up a cockle with her slender fingers. She pressed it to her full lips, which formed a perfect circle. A surge of heat shot through him. He stiffened as she sucked the soft flesh deep into her mouth.
“Delicious.” She licked her lips.
Uthyr’s mouth watered with desire for this scrumptious woman. “Delightful.” Still, he could not say the things he wanted to, here at the feasting table with her husband by her side. He had to keep his desire secret from Gwrlais. Otherwise he might try to stop Eigyr from coming to Uthyr. If he did, Uthyr would kill him.
As Eigyr devoured the cockles with relish, Uthyr shifted his gaze to his trusted friend, Ulfin, who sat further down at the table. Uthyr gestured to him and soon Ulfin stood at his side.
Ulfin leaned his head down and Uthyr whispered to him, “Have the cupbearer bring Eigyr a goblet with a note. It shall say she is more comely than any woman in Britain. And I beg to have a private word with her in my chambers after the feast. Sign it, Pendragon. Eigyr will withdraw the note, then the cupbearer will brim the goblet with mead.” Uthyr fluttered his fingers in dismissal.

Ulfin headed toward the cupbearer to see to the task. 

Monday, March 9, 2015

Some Vampires Shimmy


Some Vampires Shimmy - 6th in the Dancing Vampire Series
 
 
 
Blurb:
Afric and Foomna, the last of the dancing vampire sisters, shimmy and strut their way into belly dancing at a Scottish Steamapunk Con. It’s all sizzle and steam when they get together with a sexy rock guitarist and a hot looking god at the con. Afric swore she’d never love a human but Kade’s got her tied up in Celtic knots with the exotic pleasures of his shibari rope. 

The War Goddess Morrigan commands Afric to cut her ties with her human lover. Afric’s caught between pleasing her goddess, her sister, and her man. What will it take for Afric to follow her own heart and where will that path lead to, the Earthly Realm or Underhill? 
 
Excerpt:
“Can I take your picture?” A girl, wearing a small hat fringed with a black veil, a corset, and a striped skirt with a tulle petticoat peeking through, smiled at them. Clutching her cellphone, she snapped a shot of Afric and Foomna.”Great costumes.”

“Thanks. We’re steampunk baobhan sith belly dancers.”

Baobhan sith?” The girl’s eyebrows arched.

“Like vampires.” Afric moved her hand to her hip.

“Where are your fangs?” The girl in the corset leaned in closer to inspect their teeth.

“No fangs. Our nails turn to claws.” Foomna held her hands up showing off her new manicure. “We use talons rather than teeth.”

To Afric’s surprise the human laughed.

“Fangless, belly dancing vampires.” The girl held up her cell phone and snapped another shot. “Great characters.”

“It’s who we are.” Baffled by the comment, Afric pressed her lips together. She’d never understand humans.

“Have fun.” The girl walked off.

“Look.” Foomna pointed to a black stage with two small glass cages to the side, two towering Tesla coils and a rock band. “ArcAttack. Let’s go.”

Foomna zig-zagged through the crowd, toward the band, as Afric followed.

Electric bolts from the coils struck the armored guitar player. Afric yelled in Foomna’s ear. “God Taranius would love this.”

“That bearded thunder god is weird, always clutching a lightning bolt. You’re right though, he’d love it.”

From all her YouTube viewing, Afric recognized Joe Di Prima, the bandleader, as he stepped up to the microphone. “Knock, Knock, Who’s there?”

Foomna grabbed Afric’s shoulder and smiled. “It’s Dr. Who’s theme song. We watched that show with Sorcha and Ian.”

Afric swung her hips in a large circle and glided her arms at her side in a serpentine motion, dancing to the music as the bells on her belt chimed. She scanned the crowd looking for young, handsome men she might want to feed on at the end of the con.

Her gaze settled on a tall man with dark wavy hair falling to his shoulders. He wore a top hat with goggles on it, which added to his height. His full lips curled into a  wide smile on his well sculptured oval-face. She licked her lips.

The song ended and stagehands pulled a glass cage the size of a phone booth from between the huge coils.

“Do we have any volunteers to dance in the cage?”

The moment she heard Di Prima say volunteers, Afric thrust her hand in the air and shimmied to draw the bandleader’s attention to her body.

“The steampunk belly dancer in the green dress.” He pointed at her.

Chosen to dance in the ArcAttack cage, a thousand bubbles seemed to burst inside her chest. She grasped Foomna in a quick hug, then ran to the side of the stage and up the steps.

“And, Kade MacLeod of Golden Gears, come on up here,” the ArcAttack band leader called out.

Standing on stage, Afric turned her head toward the man joining her. Him. The one who’d caught her gaze. She stepped into the glass, metal framed cage and the statuesque, steampunk musician followed.

Blaring music with jolts of electricity pulsated against the metal as she swayed her hips in front of the glass wall, dancing for the crowd. As she faced him, only an inch of space between them, the heat of Kade’s body radiated into her. A hot shudder coursed through her. His toned, muscular body moved fluidly as he rocked his hips in a matching rhythm to hers. The muscles in her abdomen drew tight. He was hers. This human. She had to have him. Not for his blood…no…. but because of the way he made her blood boil. Gazing into his eyes, she flashed her most seductive smile.

He leaned his head to her ear. “Looks like you and your friend are dancers.”

“She’s my sister.” She shimmied, shaking her entire body for his gaze alone.

Kade’s eyes gleamed, meeting her gaze. “What’s your name?”

“I’m fey. We don’t give our names to just anyone.”

“Whatever you say?” Kade tilted his head and leaned toward her. His hot breath fanned her cheek as he said, “Belly dance for my band as part of our performance at the steampunk ball.”

Her breath grew so shallow it took her a moment to push the word out, but she finally rasped a breathy, “Yes.” She’d dance for him. Anytime.

Her entire body tingled when Kade said, “Meet us at eight in the ballroom. For rehearsal.”

The music ended and the cage door opened. Reluctantly, Afric stepped out but she stood by Kade’s side, not yet ready to walk away from him. “I’ll see you at eight.”

Kade grinned at her and in a funny, aristocratic voice he said, “Exit stage left.”

“What?” The steps by the stage were to her right.

“Snagllepus.” Kade’s brows arched. “You don’t know?” He chuckled. “It’s an old cartoon character. A big pink mountain lion.”

“I just started watching TV some and Youtube.” She had to ask Sorcha what cartoons were.

“What did you watch when you were a kid?”

“Humans.” As she breathed in his invigorating, manly scent, Afric remembered something else. “And gods.” She dragged her feet down the steps of the stage to keep him close.